The artisan in wine and at Montauto

Etymologically speaking, an artisan is someone who makes art, whether material or immaterial.

Wine, in its double nature as companion to the meal, as well as to thought, is both material and immaterial and, therefore, an artisan product par excellence.

Which is why, at Montauto, we simply define ourselves as artisans.

But for a wine, the product transformed by man from grapes, to be artisanal, it requires a series of steps that are for the exclusive benefit of the wine itself and, consequently, those who drink it.

First and foremost, we have made the decision to scalar harvest because the soil and angle of exposure here are vastly different and we want to make sure each grape is picked at its best moment of ripeness.

Obviously, harvest is by hand, which allows us to select the best bunches right there in the vineyard, as well as ensure each case is less than 20kg, as overfilling crushes the grapes and starts the first oxidation.

All this, just in the vineyard.

Once crushed and pressed and put into fermentation vats in the cellar, the grapes are transformed into must and this, Ladies and Gentlemen, is when things get exciting.

In fact, when producing white wines, it is precisely this pre-fermentative phase that plays the most important role in determining the quality of the future wine.

To avoid the phenomenon of reduction, the wine is decanted, if necessary, and racked day and night, alongside continuous analyses of the must.

But that’s not all we’re doing. Back in the vineyard, this is the moment for ploughing and, traditionally, after the first half of January, winter pruning.

And that’s why at Montauto, we make artisan wines: healthy wines with low levels of sulphur, defined in their aromas and rich in natural complexity.

Of course, there is always some concern when we bring the grapes to cellar (also because the sun, at these latitudes, is unforgiving), but we always make sure to promptly chill the grapes in order to limit, as much as possible, the activity of the enzymes naturally present in the berries and thus avoid the risk of pre-fermentation oxidation.